1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to the field of communications. More particularly, the present invention relates to data element retrieval for network performance tracking.
2. Acronyms
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)    Committed Information Rate (CIR)    Common Reliable Accounting for Network Element (CRANE)    Data Link Connection Identifier (DLCI)    Data Service Unit/Channel Service Unit (DSU/CSU)    Frame Relay (FR)    Management Information Base (MIB)    Permanent Virtual Circuit (PVC)    Service Level Agreement (SLA)    Signaling Network Management Protocol (SNMP)    Virtual Path Identifier/Virtual Channel Identifier (VPI/VCI)
3. Background and Material Information
A service level agreement (SLA) is an agreement between a data network provider and a client (i.e., user) that defines the nature of the services to be provided with respect to the network and establishes a set of measurements (known as metrics) to be used to measure the level of service provided vis-a-vis the agreed to level of service. The metrics may include performance characteristics such as bandwidth, delay, and packet loss. More specifically, the metrics may include provisioning, availability, restoration times for outages, average and maximum outages periods, average and maximum response times, latency, and delivery rates (i.e., throughput). For example, an aspect of the SLA includes the minimum bandwidth that the data network provider has promised to deliver to the client, known as the committed information rate (CIR). Metrics such as bandwidth, delay, and packet loss can assist the client in evaluating the performance of the network, so that the performance may be improved. That is, the client is able to monitor usage trends, identify data communications patterns, resolve network congestion, reduce unused capacity, and plan for improvement before performance is hampered.
The SLA metrics data is passed from the client's hardware devices, using known protocols, to the data network provider. The data network provider typically stores the SLA metrics data in a backend system and prepares the data for presentation to the client.
However, various clients support different systems that are not necessarily compatible with the data network provider's backend system. Thus, the SLA metrics data passed from the clients devices to the data network provider is transmitted in various formats (e.g., a proprietary format). As a result, for reporting the performance SLA data metrics to the client in accordance with the SLA, both the client and the data network provider must have compatible systems. Accordingly, the data network provider is required to install systems compatible with each of its clients in order to provide SLA metrics data to each client. Alternatively, the client would have to upgrade their system as required by the data network provider. Such solutions have proved mutually unsatisfactory.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to offer a service that allows a data network provider to provide network performance data to its clients, regardless of the client platforms. Such a solution would be beneficial to all concerned.